Author's note: This time around I've been playing some Sonic Lost World. I really like the game, however there were some interesting moments between the characters that I wanted to explore some more. Therefore, I introduce a talkity, character analysis one-shot that mostly explores the relationship between Eggman and the classic duo - also, my first time writing Eggman which was actually really fun :D
O … O … O = POV change
I hope you enjoy :)
Warning: Spoilers for 'Sonic Lost World'
Author's note update: I am so lucky to have a wonderful person drawing fanart for this story! This amazing piece is made by wingwolfy and it is gorgeous and so amazing! Thank you so much for this :D I highly encourage everyone to check it out, it is simply wonderful!
(Remove the spaces and then it should work because fanfiction hates links)sta . sh / 0kk6xj7iocv
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
The only difference that nighttime gave them was the fact that it was dark. It was all still the same, with the badniks they knew were roaming around, hiding in bushes and under the ground, depending on the design. It was still the same areas, plateaus and narrow paths that guided them around the landscape.
As his eyes travelled over the vast and wide scenery, he still had a hard time figuring out how exactly this worked out. It had infested his mind at this point, one thought crashing together with the other, trying to find a logical solution to the world they had appeared in. And yet, he was starting to just accept the fact that things just floated in the air for no reason and that gravity had different equations for different platforms and areas.
It was flexible and it was illogical, breaking every single law he knew, becoming foreign rather than the math he knew would always be correct. He knew that Angel Island could float since it was levitating via the Master Emerald, the entire isle keeping itself afloat using Chaos energy alone. He had tried scanning the ground with his trusty Miles Electric, but Chaos did not seem to be the primary source for this entire world to be kept afloat.
What it was and what it could be was nagging him and was something that he wanted to figure out. Gravity couldn't be ignored since they were affected by it – he could walk and fly no problem, but the ground under his sneakers were kept in the air.
Topple that with the fact that the landscape around them looked nothing like it did down on the surface. Most of the areas were in a pattern, either a hexagon or in square shapes. It didn't look like it was naturally formed and at the same time it was the same design he had observed throughout their travel.
Different enemies housed the areas, enemies that weren't naturally created in the zone, as they rapidly changed temperature and environment as they went through one place to the next. Some of it reminded him of stuff from the surface, getting a déjà vu moment when he had landed the plane and looked around at what might as well have been Green Hill zone. Deserts and tundra being neighbors, something that shouldn't be environmentally and scientifically possible since there was an expeditious temperature change.
Another mystery which he wanted solved, and yet all he could do was just accept the facts in the moment, if they even were facts in the first place. Everything was foreign to him scientifically but was familiar to him environmentally. He had no idea how Sonic could leap from wall to wall, practically scaling it without going at a high speed, but the tree he climbed looked straight from somewhere in the Mystic Ruins.
He wanted to do more research, the scientific and mechanical thinking mind always being curious about anything that didn't have an equation. And yet, even if he wanted to spend some time doing his own research, he was in a predicament that didn't call for creating a research site despite it being his wish.
First of all, because they had much more important stuff to do and second of all, because he had someone to look out for to make sure that he didn't get stabbed in the back.
A sigh left his lips as he turned around in the air, his spinning namesakes keeping him afloat as he looked down at his enemy. The doctor was standing with his arms crossed, pretending to not be looking at the flying fox as the former was observing a spruce tree beside him, uninterestingly letting his eyes fasten on a branch of needles.
Why he was even here in the first place, the sidekick had no idea, since he had already spoken his mind about their greatest enemy's presence. He was unneeded, unwanted, redundant, and a pain in the neck. He had done nothing to contribute to their travel through the brand-new world and had been a thorn in their side, complaining and hurrying on them whenever he thought they went too slow.
And yet, they had partnered together to battle against a greater enemy than the one he had fought against for practically four years of his life. The Lost Hex was indeed another dimension.
He turned around again in the air, trying to shake the feeling of having a set of piercing eyes on his back as his night vision eyes scanned the plateaus in front of him. One of the reasons why he had given up how gravity worked in this world was because the planet was practically split apart, being able to see smaller round shapes of the same areas in the sky, some areas being completely flat, others having twists and turns in order for the one running there to jump to the next one.
It all seemed like a test, a sort of parkour playground for the adventurous, something that Sonic had spent no time hesitating and jumping into. But right now, he couldn't see the blue blur anywhere, the sidekick straining his eyes to try and find a streak of azure through the landscape.
Nothing came up however, as he with a defeated sigh slowly descended to the ground, feeling his eyes hurting and stinging. It was past midnight at this point, he could tell from the timer on his tablet, something that he had felt for a very long time.
Sleep was something that he hadn't had the luxury of doing, given that he had a poisonous snake following him around wherever he went. The fat doctor had no trouble sleeping, having already caught a few hours earlier in the night when Sonic had taken off and woken up when his red robot lackey had tossed around the yellow head of his other assistant and accidentally hit the human in his stomach.
Strategically, his cue to fall asleep would be whenever the snake was sleeping, and yet the thought of the other waking up before him made him more anxious than suppressing the need to close his eyes. His mind was muffled and mushy, his eyes falling closed if he didn't pay attention as he could feel a headache starting to occur in his forehead.
Hunger was another factor that he needed to take into account pretty soon, as he lightly landed on the snowy ground, the cold not getting to him yet with his thick pelt. As he looked up at the doctor, who had watched his descent, he could see his fingers shaking from the temperature, failing at hiding it from the younger by having his arms crossed.
"So? You see him anywhere?" Eggman asked, the human being much taller than the 2'6" fox, the latter practically craning his neck back to be able to look through the doctor's glasses. He couldn't see the mans' eyes through them but could see his own reflection staring back at him.
"Nope. I don't," he deadpanned, putting his hands on his hips as he turned his head to look towards the robots the human had brought with him.
Orbot had given up finding a body for his yellow friend and was instead making a robot snow angel since Cubot was very sad about the fact that he couldn't make one.
With the little time that Tails had spent with the two robots, he could easily tell that one of the models was older than the other. He had fixed the voice chip in one of them – of which needed great improvement – which had given him great insight to the AI that Eggman had created and was using for his robot lackeys.
He hadn't created his own self-functional sentient AI before, and wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to, but the algorithm that the doctor had created wasn't half bad. There were a couple of areas where he had seen some flaws, some tweaks and adjustments that could have been done here and there to improve it.
However, he kept those thoughts strictly to himself, not wanting to give the doctor some more opportunities to create some sentient robot that could have a chance against them. The best robot he could think about would be Metal Sonic, but even that hadn't been able to beat the real deal.
"Then I see no reason to continue. The blue nuisance can find us here," the doctor suddenly agreed, more to himself than anybody else as he sat down on a tree stump behind him, his arms still crossed on his chest.
Tails let out an exasperated 'hmpf' as he could feel his tails whip faster in agitation.
"His name is Sonic."
"Believe me – I know," the doctor answered sarcastically, looking toward his red robot that was still trying to make the perfect snow angel, the man's brow furrowing.
"Orbot!" He demanded, making the living metal jump startled before turning around, still having the yellow head of the other robot under his arm.
A curious thought passed the fox's head, thinking how the robot actually knew the concept of fearing and reacting like a mobian would before Eggman's bellowing interrupted his thought process.
"Find some wood and some food – and make it quick!" Orbot scrambled with Cubot's head before he saluted him, turning around, and floated towards some of the spruce trees around, seemingly having no idea where he was going. He probably didn't know.
Tails looked around himself, catching sight of a stone not far from him of which he walked towards. With both hands under the rock, he easily lifted it and moved it a bit closer to where the supposed campfire would be made, though still keeping a good distance from the doctor. As he wiped the snow of the stone surface and sat down, he only turned his ears as the doctor let out a long and deep sigh, one finger tapping on his arm.
"What's taking him so long? I thought he was the fastest thing alive," he muttered to himself more than anything, looking unenthusiastically at the snow where his feet were planted on the ground. Tails frowned from the criticism, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He's clearing a path for us," he defended. "He's out there attacking those Zeti and making sure that no badniks are in our way of which, by the way, you deployed," he reminded, in case the madman had forgotten, narrowing his eyes.
Eggman had turned around in the course of his first sentence, the furrow deepening on his brow.
"I'm sorry that I hadn't been able to predict that Sonic was going to put us in this predicament in the first place," Tails had already opened his mouth to counter whatever the fat human was going to say, though he closed it from the sentence.
For once he had to agree with him. Sonic hadn't exactly been the smartest.
"That doesn't justify the fact that you capture wild animals and trap them in your robots," he mumbled to himself, facing away from the doctor as his eyes travelled over the sky. Stars were sparkling down at them, no moon in sight but the speckles of salt across the dark blue canvas was a familiar sight to him.
"An evil genius gotta do what an evil genius gotta do," he could hear the old man mumbling, making the fox scoff but didn't comment further.
He was too tired to come up with a retort either way. Instead, he tapped his fingers on his arm as he looked down at the ground, drawing a circle in the snow with his toe while suppressing a yawn. He closed his eyes slowly and opened them again slowly to try and get rid of the stinging and burning.
Arguments happened frequently between him and the mad doctor since he was highly against the pure fact that he was with them in the first place. However, that was the predicament he had to accept, despite his discomfort, letting out the umpteenth sigh that day, letting his behind appendages rest on the ground, getting snow in his yellow pelt.
His ears turned around once he heard shuffling behind him, having already registered that it was Orbot coming back. He twisted on his stone to watch as the machine was walking with a stack of sticks taller than himself, the yellow head of his companion placed on top of it and was being the red robot's guide.
Tails was already on his feet once he saw that the stack of sticks were about to topple over, running over and pushed them the other way with both hands before they all could fall on the snowy ground and become wet and unburnable.
"Phew. Thank you," Orbot thanked, at the same time that the fox flew in the air and picked up the yellow robot head, making it much easier for the red robot to carry. As he landed, Orbot had already made his way to where the mad doctor was sitting, placing the sticks on the ground.
"And what about food you dimwit?" Eggman asked with the same frown on his brow. It may be there permanently, the fox started to believe.
The red robot lackey turned around upon the doctor's words, before reaching behind his back and showed him two fruits, looking a lot like a mango.
"I could only find this sir," he practically apologized, though Eggman had already snatched one of the fruits without question and had taken a huge bite into it.
Orbot did nothing but open and reopen his optics before he swirled around towards the mobian, Tails having sat back down on the stone with Cubot's head in his lap, not wanting to put him down on the snowy ground.
"Thanks," the sidekick smiled as he was handed the fruit, hoping that the doctor at least didn't hear his gurgling stomach as he took a bite of the fruit. It might as well be a mango, as the taste was instantly sweet with only a bit of a savory hint to it when he swallowed. It was good either way.
"Man, you're so much nicer than Doctor Eggman," Cubot suddenly opinionated, somehow jumping in the lap of the fox, making him almost fall down to the ground if Orbot hadn't grabbed him.
Tails couldn't wipe the smile off his face, when he swallowed his second bite, wiping some dirt off the fruit in his hand.
"He doesn't have to be, he was just taught that way," the doctor suddenly said, already hallway through with his fruit. "You're robots – you can't use positive encouragement for anything. You're unable to feel emotion," he lamely explained, as if he was telling them that the snow was white.
Tails' brow was raised from the comment, swallowing another piece of the fruit.
"That isn't scientifically true," he started, waving a lazy hand toward both robots that were now looking at him. "They react to certain stimuli – they show expressions of discouragement and excitement whenever a certain positive or negative comment is targeted toward them and they can react to the emotion as well," his brow furrowed.
"You simply don't wish to accept this behavior and would rather throw that responsibility aside."
"What responsibility? Rebuilding them whenever they break themselves apart or update their servos for faster response time?"
Tails shrugged. "You do neither," he argued, shifting a bit on his stone as he took another bite of the fruit. "I had to repair Cubot for you, in case you forgot."
"At least I remember not to talk while eating," mildly embarrassed, Tails closed his mouth for the remainder of his chewing time, ignoring the giggle that both robots made beside him.
"My point still stands," he continued after swallowing, waiting on taking another bite. "Your robots have emotion sensitive AI that responds to affection and criticism," he finalized, being halfway done with his fruit, feeling his stomach already pleasantly filling up.
"Their work performance will not be affected," Eggman countered yet again, wiping his hands clean from the fruit he was finished eating. "Unnecessary encouragement is unneeded when it can't make them work harder for me," he finalized, crossing his arms over his chest and feet over his ankles, looking at the pile of sticks next to him.
A pair of twin tails whipped in agitation since the brow of the owner of the tails was already furrowed.
"That shouldn't matter. You build them; therefore, you have a responsibility to take care of them," he countered, staring straight at the doctor in front of him.
Despite the stare, the madman wasn't affected one bit, shrugging his shoulders. Tails turned his head once he saw in his peripheral vision the red robot lifting a finger and looked back at the doctor as well
"I will vouch for that proposal."
"You will vouch for nothing you piece of scrap metal!" Eggman was quick to shout, staring straight at the robot who recoiled in fright "And it wasn't a proposal it was a statement. One of which I will choose to ignore."
The fox looked up after having finished his fruit, feeling more and more hatred towards the man who was being unnecessarily rude towards his own creations. He had a difficult time understanding why he would create sensitive AI in the first place if he weren't going to use it. The point of making advanced technology like two assistant robots which could register, recognize, and even repeat a certain set of emotions would be replacements for normal company.
If the Egghead preferred that their only function was merely assistance, then there was no logical point in the advanced algorithms. If he wanted robots which could learn from their own mistakes and thereby make their own new algorithms, then he had failed tremendously.
"Now get that fire going," Tails observed as the red robot sighed, actually letting out a visual emotion of fatigue, as he was about to put down Cubot's head.
"No, I'll do it," the fox quickly volunteered, as he got up from the stone and moved towards the sticks, before Orbot had time to protest or leave his yellow partner's head on the ground.
Tails took a second to let his eyes analyze the wooden sticks, being well aware that the ones on the bottom were unusable due to being wet now. He picked up a couple of them from the top, since they seemed dry enough, and walked into the middle between his makeshift chair and Eggman's tree stump.
"Oh, thank you," the red robot said, before putting Cubot's head on the ground anyway and sat on it. Tails resisted the urge to roll his eyes into the sky while kicking snow out of his way, revealing wet grass on the ground. Hopefully, it would still work.
He crouched down and arranged the sticks in a circle, being well aware of how to do this while he turned towards the red robot.
"Can I borrow the matches?" He asked, while reaching out a hand, receiving them rather quickly after the request.
He had done this too many times that he had lost count at this point, being well aware how to start a fire and how to keep control of it. They should have stones surrounding the wooden area, but because it was on wet snow, he figured that they would be okay for now. Sonic had taught him this very long ago, being one of the very first things that he had been taught.
Striking the match across the phosphorus area, a small flame was lit on the tiny stick. He reached it down to the wood, hoping that it would snatch a hold of it. There weren't any leaves around they could use for a starter, and the needles from the trees around were covered in snow.
The match had almost burned all the way before it caught the wood, a tiny flame appearing on one stick. He lit another match to start burning another stick, hoping that it would speed up the process of creating a proper fire.
"You know Tails," his ears swirled towards Eggman before his head did, the tone of voice having completely changed from the venomous and defensive tone that had been there before. He turned his yellow head towards the mad doctor, realizing that he had been observing him in the fire-starting act, the furrow in his brow having seized.
"In perhaps another time, another dimension if you will, you would make quite the useful assistance," he said seriously, keeping his gaze fastened on the fox.
Tails however hadn't expected the compliment, let alone that he would hear it from Eggman of all people. The flatter was short lived however, as he realized what kind of correlation the mad doctor was making, making another furrow appear in his own brow.
"I would never work for you," he said seriously back, keeping the gaze locked. Eggman was the first one to break it, letting out an exasperated sigh and threw out his arms.
"That's why I said in another time," he exhaled, crossing his arms over his chest again. "You've been around with Sonic long enough for me to know that."
The fox's eyes widened slightly from the comment, opening his mouth to retort.
If he was referring to the fact that if Sonic hadn't found him four years ago then he would have taken the opposite path of a hero, then he was surely going to hear it. However, he closed his mouth when he thought further on the matter, thinking that he would be forced into explaining the situation of Sonic finding him and teaching him the rights from wrongs.
It was something he had appreciated for such a long time, something that had essentially saved his life. It was something he held near and dear to his heart, a kind of bonding experience which he had rarely told others. It was sensitive to him, a kind of territory he didn't want to venture into since he knew it would make him feel emotional.
Therefore, he simply turned his head back towards the fire without answering the mad doctor's comment, determining that the flames wouldn't die out right here and now. The snow had already melted around the campfire, as the crackling of the embers in the wood created a tranquil sound, creating warmth and light to the occupants there.
Tails sat down on his stone from before, having hidden away the matches, leaning forward towards the fire, only realizing now that he was indeed a bit cold, despite his thick fur. A tangible silence remained, one which was used to suppress two more yawns, as the warmth made him drowsy, pinching his arm to keep him awake.
He refused to go to sleep – even if Sonic had given up finding them and had found a comfy tree somewhere to sleep on, then he would stay awake the whole night. He didn't trust Eggman. He was the last person to trust.
If their predicament were any different, he would have flown away from the mad doctor and tried to keep up as best as he could with Sonic. Though, the agreement, mostly Eggman and Sonic had done, bounded him in place, making him let out another sigh.
"Care to venture a guess as to how the transformation works?" Tails looked up from the sudden conversation starter, looking at the doctor's glasses past the flames.
"Excuse me?"
"How does small feral animals fit into the concept of controlling a simple badnik?" he reformulated, leaning forward towards the flames to warm his hands. Tails however let out an irritated 'hmpf' looking away.
"I don't even want to discuss that," he clarified. "What you're doing is animal cruelty," the fox elaborated, feelings his tails whip once more in agitation.
Why Eggman asked him to answer random trivia was strange enough in itself but having him answer how an innocent Flicky was mechanically manipulated to control a motorbug was like asking a cow if they would like a steak for lunch.
"What I'm doing is progress towards my own goals."
"Oh really? Then maybe you should reconsider that goal to be something a little less cruel."
"I wouldn't have to make the badniks in the first place if someone didn't ruin my plans!"
"Why do you think we ruin your plans in the first place?!" Tails asked irritated, throwing out his arms for emphasis.
"Do you think Sonic would stand by and let you take over the world? No, he wouldn't! He's saving the world from you! We're all helping him to take you down!"
"Sure, because putting Cubot's head on a defect battle bot was exactly the help Sonic needed."
The fox froze from the sudden comment, despite being more than ready to continue the argument.
A great surge of embarrassment and regret halted the anger that had sprouted in him, making him let out a sigh and look at the ground.
Stupid Egghead – it was typical of him to stab someone where it hurt the most. Utilizing your weakness and pulling you down as much as possible.
He had miscalculated badly, not even giving it a thought that the codes would override Cubot's very simple algorithms and perform like a normal crabbot. The first thought that had passed his mind was that he would get a temporary body back, something that the robot had been lacking ever since the badniks had fought back due to being controlled by the Zeti.
He had truly only wanted to help him. But instead, he had ended up being scolded by Sonic – in front of Eggman. Usually the older hedgehog wasn't disciplinary, took mistakes as a shrug on the shoulder and a pad on the fox's back in a 'remember next time'. That Sonic had deemed it necessary to lecture him about it meant that what he had done had been simply stupid.
And yet, he overruled his own embarrassment by thinking about the unexpected that had happened afterwards, making a crevice in his brow as he looked back up at Eggman.
"Why did you save me though?" The raised brows told the fox that he hadn't expected the question, making the madman let out a 'hmpf' himself.
Tails knew that he was smart in his own way, and that the sidekick wasn't looking for the answer he had given Sonic. A beat of silence appeared between the two of them, only making the fox realize now that the two robots had fallen asleep next to him, despite none of them needing the action.
Cubot's optics were closed, while Orbot was 'sitting' on the yellow head, keeping his head up by holding it in his hand. Tails almost envied them, swallowing spit in an effort to suppress another yawn.
"Because that is not the way it's going to happen," the fox turned his head back towards the madman's answer, having to blink from the explanation.
"The Zeti was supposed to work for me, not against me. It'll be on my terms how I destroy you and Sonic," he grumbled more than answered, looking at his own shoes.
Tails' gaze was fastened onto him, one large ear flicking as an ember jumped from the burning wood to the cold ground. He let out a sigh, while leaning back and crossing his arms.
"Well, that's reassuring," he mumbled, looking into the fire that had steadily increased.
Despite saying it in a sarcastic manner, it was a bit assuasive to know that Eggman wasn't going to do anything to him here and now, simply because he had a grudge against the Zeti. He could hear it in the human's tone, how much Eggman wanted it his way.
The mad doctor might be as predictable as one could get, but he was a perfectionist at its finest. His plans may not be well thought out, but he was well aware of how everything was going to end – and that was most definitely on his own terms and conditions. Nobody was going to ruin that for him.
Though it sparked another question in the young inventor's mind, humming a bit to himself since he was unsure if he wanted to know the answer or not.
"So, doctor," he asked, gaining the human's attention. "Let's say that you, down on the surface, capture one of us. Anyone of us. Then what would you do to them?"
Instead of the surprised raise of the brows he had gotten from the doctor before, his gaze was merely held where it was. Still, a tangible silence appeared between them, one that led the fox to bite his cheek, a suspicious thought infecting his mind. Maybe Eggman didn't even know himself.
"Let's just say," he sighed. "That I will do whatever it takes to take over the world," the madman explained, letting his breath exhale slowly, as he looked deeply into the flames.
If Tails didn't know the mad doctor any better, he would have thought that it sounded almost melancholy. And yet, he knew that he was most likely just tired of it all. Wanting to take over the world as fast as possible since Sonic had prevented that future from happening for years now. If Eggman actually knew what he was going to do with them or not Tails still was unsure of, but he didn't want to ask one more time. The answer didn't ease his mind one bit, however.
Any more questions or inquiries that might have been made between them halted with the sudden sound of running feet. Tails had already turned his head around towards the sound, letting out a sigh of relief as he saw a veil of dark blue traverse through the spruce forest.
It turned suddenly and headed straight towards them, at the same time that the speed decreased immensely. And as he halted to a complete stop by throwing his heels into the snow, his silhouette and general physique got visible in the campfire light.
"There you were! Man, I thought for a second that you had continued without me," he chuckled lightly, crossing his arms over his chest while having a cheerful smirk on his lips, practically radiating victory.
"Good to see you Sonic!" Tails smiled, before Eggman could make a rude inquiry. "Did you fight the Zeti?"
The hedgehog copied the smile that the fox made before walking over to him and sat down on the snowy ground, beside the stone before the sidekick had time to ask if he wanted to sit there instead.
"Yep. It was pretty easy too. Man, that Zeti, Zeena I think her name was, is even more annoying than Amy. I would rather fight her than listen to the Zeti's nails breaking one more time," he complained, lacing his hands behind his neck, and crossing one foot over the other.
Tails couldn't help but giggle lightly at the comment, cerulean orbs already scanning the hedgehog for potential injuries. It was a sidekick habit he had adapted, always looking out for the hero of Mobius' wounds since he didn't care about them himself. He looked fine however, smiling and chuckling with some snow sitting in his quills. However, he could see the tiredness around his eyes as well as the deflated spines on the back of his head.
"I'm pretty sure she found you annoying too."
"Who wouldn't?" Eggman agreed on the other side of the campfire, while Tails carefully brushed the snow away from Sonic's quills, being well aware that he could cut his own hand off if he wasn't being mindful.
"It's my charm Eggy – notice the difference," Sonic easily mocked, being trained in that kind of behavior for a very long time.
Tails was glad that he hadn't moved his head, as he pulled back, only half-listening to the conversation as he couldn't suppress the yawn that happened this time around.
"Did you find food for yourself?" he asked the blue hedgehog, ignoring the grumbling the mad doctor did, as Sonic turned his head towards him.
"Yep, I found some berries or something of the likes on a bush somewhere," he explained, green irises darting around the fox's face. "Did you find some grub?" The fox nodded as he gestured a hand towards the robots still being offline.
"Orbot found this mango fruit, it was actually really good."
"Yeah, the food is pretty delicious up here."
"Is that the only topic you're capable of talking about? Food?" Both heads of a fox and hedgehog turned around towards the mad doctor, completely ruining their conversation.
Tails gave him another frown while Sonic stuck out his tongue at him.
"Lose it egg belly, food is good," the hedgehog retorted. "Besides you're one to talk. How about going on a diet or something?'' The 'hmpf' Eggman let out completely dismissed the advice.
"I'll go on a diet on the day that you'll surrender."
"Then keep on eating Eggy," Sonic smirked, letting out a snort as Eggman looked away from him, the crevice in his brow most likely giving him a headache.
Tails was about to add another comment when the second yawn decided to reveal his current state, not making it in time to suppress it yet again. Sonic turned his head towards him, a calm smile on his lips.
"How about you sleep huh bud? I can take a badnik watch," the fox turned his head towards the hedgehog, feeling the tiredness starting to overwhelm him. Tired eyes slowly closed and reopened and didn't even want to reconsider the offer as he slid down from the stone he was sitting on.
Sleeping on snowy, cold, hard ground was nothing new to the adventurous fox, since he had been following around the outdoor enthusiast called Sonic ever since he was four and had therefore slept on worse terrain.
Settling down with his head cradled in his arms and tails curling around him, he looked at the flames one more time before yawning one last time.
"Alright. Gnight Sonic," he said, closing his eyes. "And you too Eggman," he smirked, his ear only turning slightly towards the giggle the hedgehog let out.
"Gnight bud," the hedgehog said, the sidekick easily registering his voice, as the warmth of the fireplace slowly lulled him into slumber.
The venomous snake couldn't do anything to him now, since he was aware that Eggman wouldn't or couldn't do anything in Sonic's presence while he was sleeping.
Therefore, he easily drifted into the familiar dark limbo, hearing lastly the embers crackling and the fire sputtering.
O … O … O … O … O … O … O … O … O … O … O
Sonic observed for a second as his sidekick drifted into sleep, being partially amazed at how quickly he actually fell asleep. Deep breaths were already indicating that he was knocked out, settling down and getting some rest.
He had already resisted the urge to pad the golden head in a comforting gesture, reminding himself the company they had. He wasn't worried about leaving Tails behind with the mad doctor, but he knew that the fox wasn't happy about that decision. But they really didn't have any other choice.
He would have brought the fox with him if it weren't for the structure of this weird world. He sped past narrow pathways, running on walls and up into trees, used the wisps whenever they were around, jumped into cannons only to be shot miles away from his original position. He knew that his sidekick was fast, but the both of them had calculated and agreed that it would be really difficult for him to follow.
He frowned at the whole idea, knowing full well that Tails was much in disagreement on having the doctor along for the ride. It wasn't that he didn't trust his little brother, far from – he just needed to make sure that what the hedgehog had done wrong could be undone again.
Eggman had made the machine, therefore it made perfect sense that he would therefore be 100% in the know on how to turn it off again. In Sonic's mind, a part of him had actually hoped that the two of them would work together so they both could turn it off and restore the energy that had been stolen, since he knew that Tails and Eggman could do it.
Though, that seemed to be too much to hope for, since his sidekick had seemed to gain even more distaste towards the mad doctor. He didn't blame him, the madman pulling this kind of a stunt was over the line – trapping feral animals again, using a conk to manipulate the Zeti to do his biting and building a machine that would suck the world dry from energy.
Eggman had messed with the timeline previously, but it was more forgivable that he was messing with Sonic's past since it would only cause problems for the hedgehog. This was more than world threatening, this was world destroying.
A quick sigh left him as he turned his head back towards the fireplace, letting his green eyes wander over the flames that licked the wood. It was his fault after all – he had gotten them into this mess and therefore he needed to do everything he could to get them out of it again. That was the plan for now. Then he didn't need to think about what he did wrong.
He looked across the campfire, towards the man he had been fighting for almost his entire life, the two of them burying the hatchet for now. Despite their ceasefire, the madman was always as hostile and irritated as he knew he was.
He did things for his own benefit and wanted to do nothing more than complete his own goal of creating Eggman Land and enslave everybody. What the doctor wanted to do afterwards, was a mystery the hedgehog had yet to the answer to.
He looked thoughtfully into the flames, letting his mind take control of his brain that had a limited use. He had always fought Eggman - from the first day where he had seen feral animals getting trapped into robots, since he knew that it was wrong. And when he had discovered that he could do something about it then he had made it his mission.
And after some time, he had realized how much fun it actually was, what kind of enjoyment he got out of it. Coupled with the fact that he was helping and protecting the people in need, then he would do nothing but continue fighting the madman until he one day gave up. He knew that would never happen. But at the same time, Sonic knew that he would never give up.
It had been a close call a couple of times, the doctor doing one scheme after the next in order to get what he wanted. Nine out of ten times it included collecting the Chaos Emeralds, the one thing that Sonic was searching for as well to prevent Eggman from getting them. Luckily, they were nowhere around up here, and neither him nor Tails had brought one with them, the Tornado running on ring energy instead.
That the two of them had to chase Eggman through the clouds only to discover that he was planning on taking over The Lost Hex with his badniks so he could utilize his machine, was just another adventure they had been catapulted into. Not that he minded it, he enjoyed running around and doing some new exploration, especially now that he was visiting zones he hadn't seen before.
Granted, some of them reminded him of what they had back on the surface, but he wouldn't be the one to complain. He loved the fact that he could run on walls for longer periods of time than usual. However, he was already concentrated on the fact that they had a job to do. He knew that this meant as much to Sonic as this meant to Eggman.
He had never experienced the madman getting that angry before, going as far as to punching an ice wall. He knew that the human most likely didn't enjoy the idea of getting his mechs and giant machine taken over by another group of villains but going to the extent that he had the hedgehog would never have imagined.
His threats had seemed real, something that he would believe would be carried out, if they didn't get a move on. He guessed there was a part of Eggman he had yet to see.
"I have a question hedgehog," Sonic blinked from the sudden conversation starter, having not expected that one bit from the egg belly himself. Though he shrugged his shoulders, sending the human a smirk as wide as possible.
"Shoot, watcha got?" he asked curiously, having no actual idea as to what kind of topic the doctor had in mind. He was silent for a bit, before he nodded towards the sleeping fox in front of the campfire.
"Why did you bring him along so long ago?" Sonic followed his gaze and landed on his little brother, blinking perplexed at the question.
It was one of the unexpected ones to say the least, since he wouldn't have thought that the doctor would care either way. He had never commented on the fact that he suddenly had a fox following him around, let alone becoming his sidekick. Sonic had an answer at the ready however, looking back at the enemy.
"I didn't let him come. He came himself," he easily answered, shrugging his shoulders "He followed me around, and one day I decided to say hi to him and then he stayed with me," Sonic explained simply.
There were more to it than just that, but he knew Tails and he knew he would get mad if he told Eggman, of all people, what kind of past Sonic had saved him from – not even Knuckles or Amy knew it. And he figured that they wouldn't tell them.
It was a part of his little brother's life that would never get repeated and therefore it wasn't worth mentioning. What happened then doesn't apply to the now.
Satisfied with the simple answer, the man didn't comment further on the matter, merely looking into the flames. It made the hedgehog's smirk widen.
"Why? Are you sad that you don't got a sidekick with ya?"
"Shut up hedgehog," the human grumbled in answer, making the mentioned hedgehog snort, shaking his head.
Why the doctor wanted to know however puzzled him a little bit. Maybe Eggman secretly admired the fox's genius mind? It wouldn't surprise him if that were the case. Tails was practically a genius.
Being eight years old and being able to build a TV out of paperclips was an accomplishment. He had seen it with his own eyes, when the fox one day had gotten bored out of his mind and would have initially wanted to clean up some stuff in the workshop, when he had found a practical box full of them.
The memory made the hedgehog smirk, before a yawn broke his thoughts apart, rubbing a knuckle into his left eye. Running and fighting all day could be exhausting.
"Sleep pincushion," that comment twisted Sonic back to reality, blinking confused at his enemy. "You need to get us through tomorrow. Orbot and Cubot can take a watch," he explained in a neutral tone, not sounding tired just yet himself.
Sonic let his eyes roam over the face of the mad doctor for a bit before he agreed with himself that it was most likely for the best. Even if Eggman wanted to do something to them while they were sleeping it would be useless since he needed them to shut down his own machine. That, and he had nothing to trap them with.
"Didn't know you cared," Sonic mocked either way, earning an honest growl from the human.
"I only care because I want to get my machine back in my control – and you're going to be the one to do it for me!"
"Alright quiet will ya? Someone's already sleeping," Sonic quickly shushed, as he settled down as well, scooting closer to the flames so he could get some warmth.
"But – I appreciate the thought Eggy," he winked mockingly, in return, getting a grumble.
The hedgehog snickered to himself before he exhaled satisfyingly, head cradled in his arms and legs curled in his usual hedgehog sleeping position.
He knew that Eggman wouldn't do anything through the night – a part of Sonic actually suspecting that the human would go to sleep in a couple of minutes and demand his robot lackeys to wake up. Not that they needed the sleep, the hedgehog figured.
But nevertheless, he settled down with the thought that they were going to continue fighting tomorrow. He had made a mistake, but he knew that if they continued going forward then they would fix everything, and it would return to normal. That's just how these things happened.
He might talk to Tails tomorrow about this whole 'working together with Eggman' stuff, but he figured that they would work it out either way. Eggman was teaming with them because they had a shared goal of saving the world – for once.
All they needed to do was to keep working together, and then everything should be okay.
Hopefully.